Policy Backgrounders

Federal Budget Negotiations and Ukraine/Israel/Taiwan Aid

December 20, 2023

Congress is leaving Washington for the year without action in two major areas: not enacting a sufficient number of regular appropriations bills to avoid a government shutdown in January and not enacting a supplemental budget request that would provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and increase funding for immigration enforcement.

• Congress did approve the defense authorization bill largely shorn of controversial provisions.
• Looming deadlines -- including a government shutdown on January 19 – will mean that when Congress returns the week of January 8th, they will have significant work to do if a government shutdown is to be avoided.
• Even if a short-term deal can be arranged to meet the January deadline for the first continuing resolution that funded several government agencies, the threat for a shutdown continues as Congress approaches the February 2nd deadline for the second continuing resolution that funded the remaining agencies.
• Enactment of the supplemental budget request for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan will depend on achieving a compromise, likely originating in the Senate, on additional restrictions on immigration policy. The negotiations have been described by members of the Senate leadership, as the most difficult to date for Congress.
• Still looming are the 1% budget cuts across the board of all discretionary spending, if Congress does not pass the appropriations bills to fund the government by early Spring.